My work is part of group of research projects that are attempting to analyse interactions between the family and health, and the relationships between “lay people” and “professionals” in the area of health. I am particularly interested in issues of mental health and am trying to describe connections between the way those involved take ownership (or not) of the different medical categories available to describe and think about the disorders and the way practical arrangements implemented on a daily basis are organised and evolve to enable living with these disorders. Reflecting on this issue contributes to a better understanding of how health experiences and mental illnesses are both shaped by public policies, guided by professional norms and recommendations and caught up in social relationships.
My present research addresses several areas: children designated as agitated or inattentive and their itineraries between families, schools and professionals; home care practices and ways of describing disorders of the elderly, including new regulations for these practices and descriptions within the framework of the policy of combating Alzheimer’s disease; the experience and itineraries of children with microphthalmia/anophthalmia and their families.
